Machine for making cordage



(No Model.) 3 Sheets--Sheet 1.

r J. P. TOLMAN MACHINE FOR MAKING GORDAGB, WBBBING, 20.

No. 276,201. Patented Apr. 24, 1883.

\MTNEES-EE INVENTUR n, PETERS. Pnmwum wm. Wnhingtnn, n. r;

(NoModeL) s Shets-Sheet 2.

J. P. TOLMA'N.

MACHINE FOR MAKING GORDAGE, WB BBING, 8m. No. 276,201. Patented Apr.24, 1883.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. P. TOLMAN.

MAUHINE FOR MAKING UORDAGE, WEBBING, &o. No. 276,201. 1 Patented Apr.24,1883.

IHII

WITNEEEEE Newton, in the county of Middlesex and State UNITED STATES JAMES P. TOLMAN, OF WEST PATENT OFFICE.

NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR MAKING CORDAGE, WEBBING, 81.0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,201, dated April 24-, 1883.

Application filed November 10, 1882. (No model.)

,To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LJAMES P. TOLMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at West of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Cordage, Webbing, &c., of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan of my improved machine, with a portion of the toothed guide-ring and one of the carrier-gears removed, the travelers in their various positions being indicated by; disks and sections of their feet. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the center of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan of a portion of the top of the machine with the parts in aposition different from that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a planet the revolving platform of the machine, with two of the switch-levers removed. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of a portion of the revolving platform, with one'pair of the switch-levers shown in elevation. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the base or lower portion of one of the travelers. Fig. 7 is a plan of the bottom of a traveler-base.

My invention relates to that class of machines in which the strands forming the cord or webbing are to be united byan'interlockin g twist, and in which the travelers carrying the strands have an intermittent motion, be ing at times held in position by a stationary t'o'othed guide-ring or traveler-holding plate, and at other-times removed by carrier-gears, with which-they revolve, to newlpositions in such guide-ring. The machines now in use for making cordage inithis manner are such as are described in LettersPatent of the United- States No. 56,485, granted to James A.Bazin July 17 1866, and N 0.23.2,920, granted to Chas. E. Barnes October 5, 1880. In both of these machines-the traveler-selectors are operated by a complicated mechanism actuated by a cam, which in one of thesemachines moves a series of sliding. plates and in the other a set of pivoted jaws, the object in both cases being to direct the projecting feet of the travelers into theirproper places in a main revolving repairs and renewals. ,The lost motion and backlash of the gears also make it very di'tiicult to properly time them'achiues, and make special devices necessary to operate them in a reverse direction, as isneedful when picking out bad work or'using yarns with an opposite twist to that usually employed.

The object of my invention is to simplify the construction of the mechanism for selecting the travelers in this'class of machines in such a manner as to greatly reduce the cost of their construction, thenumberof their moving parts,

,and the rapidityot' their deterioration by wear,

and to make it possible to revolve the machine at will in either direction without special preparation or any adjustment of the mechanism.

To this end my invention consists in the combinatiomwith the usual revolving platform having one or more circular recesses or guidepaths cut'into or formed upon the same, of one or more independent switch levers or points adapted to be operated in one direction -by the travelers, and in the opposite direction by aspring or springs, for the purpose of automatically guiding the travelers alternately into and out of the recess or recessesiuthe revolving platform; and my invention also consists in certain details of construction, as hereinafter set forth and specifically claimed.

In the said drawings, A represents the main revolving platform or table of theymachine;

E, the circular recesses or guidepaths cut: into or formed upon the same, and B O the. movable switch levers. or points which control the entrances to the recessesE, each lever being pivoted to the platform by means of a stud,

e,projectingfrom its under side and fittinginto a hole, d, Figs. 4 and 5.

m n are lugs or steps which serve to limit the range of motion of the switch -levers BO,

andb c are springs which are coiled around the 5 studs 0, and tend to keep the switch-leversin the position seen in Fig. 4, with their outer ends againstthe lugs m. y

A small portion, a, of the platform A is made,

removable,'to allow of the insertion andremoval of the travelers, and is held in place by means of a screw.

F is the guide-ring or traveler-holdin g plate, which is held stationary at a suitable distance above the platform A by the uprights h of the main frame H of the machine. This guidering Fis provided on its inner periphery with teeth, of which certain ones at regular intervals, f, are suitably'cut away, as seen in Fig. 1, for the purpose of holding the cylindrical necks of the travelers D D D D D In Fig. 1 a portion of the guide-ring is represented as cut away for the purpose of showing the action of the switch-levers beneath.

G Gare the carrier-gears, (one for each recess E,) arranged in the same plane with the guide-ring F, and provided with studs having their bearings in the platform A, as seen in Fig. 2, by which means the gears are maintained in position above and concentric with the recesses E. These carrier-gears G are ro-.

, tated by their teeth engaging with the teeth of the guide-ring F as the platform A is reopposite thereto.

tween the teeth of the gears G are properly shaped, as seen atg, for receiving the necks of the travelers;

The operation of the machine is as follows: As the platform A revolves in the direction indicated by the arrow 10, Fig. 1, the carriergears G are by the engagement of their teeth withthe teeth of the stationary guidering F revolved in the direction indicated by the arrows 12, causing the travelers D and D Fig. 1, to be carried thereby around the recesses E. The travelers D being in the positions indicated in Fig. 1, hold the switchlevers B in the position seen, thus directing the travelers D out of the recesses E, around which they have just traveled, into positions in the cut-away teethfof the guidering F, where they are held until the next recess E in the revolving platform Ais brought As the platform continues to revolve, it will pass by the travelers D in the cutaway teeth f of the ring F, the feet of these travelers bearing against a shoulder at the outer periphery of the platform, and the switch-leversiB being carried past the travelers D, so that they will clear the same,- and as the travelers D will have at the same time been advanced by the rotation of the carrien gears, the switch-levers B will have been released and returned by their springs b to their normal positions against the lugs m. As the a platform still continues to revolve, the feet of the travelers D which are held in the cutaway teeth of the stationary guide-ring F, will push the switch-levers O aside, allowing them to pass, and the switch-levers B, being at that represented as occupied by the travelers D, Fig.- 1, and will then be guided out of the recesses E by the switch-levers B into the teeth f of the ring F which are at that moment opposite thereto. At the time that the switchlevers G are being pushed against the lugs n by passing in contact with the travelers 1) their curved projecting portions 13 will be removed out of the paths of the travelers D and when the travelers D have entered the recesses E and cleared the switch-levers O, the latter will be returned by their springs 0 to their normal positions against the stops at and allow the passage of the travelers D out of the recesses E.

It will be seen that when the platform A is revolving in the direction indicated by the arrow 10 the levers B will guide the travelers alternately intoand out of the recesses E, the switch-levers 0 having no work to perform, beingmerely moved out ofthe way bycontaet with the travelers to allow of the free passage of the latter. When, however, the platform A is revolved in the direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow 10, the operation is reversed, the switch-levers 0 then actingi'n the same manner as the levers B, above described,

and serving to guide the travelers alternately into and out of-the recesses E,'while the levers B have then no work to perform, being merely moved out of the way by contact with the travelers as they are carried past them, and it will thus be seen that the mechanism can be revolved at will in either direction withoutspeeial preparation or any adjustment whatever,-whereby much delay and inconvenience are avoided and the machine rendered much more valuable.

The platform A is furnished with a sleeve, S, Fig. 2, which revolves around a main spindle, k, rising from the frame H, this spindle k being preferably made hollow, to permit the passage of a core or center for the cord, if such should be required.

To the sleeve S is secured, atits lower end, a gear,K, which is adapted to be actuated by suitable mechanism-similar, for instance, to that in the patents above referred to--for the purpose of communicatin g motion to the machine.

In Fig. et one pair of the switch-levers B U is removed to show the holes (Z d in the-platform A, which form bearings for the studs ee, by means of which the switch-levers are pivoted on the platform.

The arrangement of coiled springs 11 0, encircling the shafts of the switch-levers for the purpose of returning them to their normal positions after the passage of the travelers, as seen in Figs.- 2 and 5, may be varied, it desired, and I do not therefore confine myself to this particular construction, as it is obvious that the switch-levers may be operated by spiral or fiat springs placed above the platform A, or arranged in any other suitable'manner. The base of each traveler is composed of two disks, Z q, a cylindrical neck, r, and a projecting foot, t, as seen in Figs. 6 and 7. In

practice the upper disk of the traveler-base carries the spool frame, and there is placed above the whole machine a suitable take-off mechanism for taking up the finished cord and winding it up or conveyingit away; but these devices are not shown, as they form no part of my invention, and may be, for instance, similar to those in the patents above referred to.

The machine here represented contains fit teen travelers, each carrier-gear G having five spaces, 9, between its teeth for the reception of the necks of the travelers; but these carrier-gears G may be provided with any uneven number of these spaces g, and the number of travelers varied accordingly. The ca rrier-gears G are here shown as operated by engagement with the toothed ring F; but, if preferred, they may be rotated in any other suitable manner.

It is obvious that for-varying or removing the twisttot' the cord, or in making a fiat web, it may be desirable to revolve the guide-ring F in a direction either the same or opposite to that of the platform A; or the platformA may be made stationary and the guide-rin g F revolved; but neither of these arrangements would disturb or change the relative positions of the carrier-gears G and travelers with respect to the guide-ring, and would not therefore interfere with the application of my invention thereto.

What 1 claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The com bination,with the revolving platform A, having a circular recess or guidepath, E, of a traveler carrier-gear, Gr, applied thereto, and a switch lever and spring for the purpose of automatically guiding the travelers alternately into and out of the recess or guidepath E, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the revolving platform A, having a circular recess or guidepath, E, and a traveler carrier-gear, G, applied thereto, of the springs 12 c and the switch-levers B 0, arranged upon opposite sides of the entrance to the recess or guide-path E, to opcrate. reversely for the purpose of automatically guiding the travelers alternately into and out of the said recess or guide-path, whereby the machine is adapted to be run in either direction without adjustment, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with therevolving platform A, having a series. of circular recesses or guide-paths, E, of the traveler carrier-gears G, applied thereto, and a series of switch-levers and operating-springs for the purpose of adtomatically guiding the travelers alternately into and out of the recesses or guide-paths E, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the rotating plat- JAMES P. TOLMAN.

In presence of- 1?. E; TESGHEMAOHER, W. J. CAMBRIDGE. 

